Mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization processes (collectively, “CMP”) remove material from the surface of micro-device workpieces in the production of microelectronic devices and other products. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a rotary CMP machine 10 with a platen 20, a carrier head 30, and a planarizing pad 40. The CMP machine 10 may also have an under-pad 25 between an upper surface 22 of the platen 20 and a lower surface of the planarizing pad 40. A drive assembly 26 rotates the platen 20 (indicated by arrow F) and/or reciprocates the platen 20 back and forth (indicated by arrow G). Since the planarizing pad 40 is attached to the under-pad 25, the planarizing pad 40 moves with the platen 20 during planarization.
The carrier head 30 has a lower surface 32 to which a micro-device workpieces 12 may be attached, or the workpieces 12 may be attached to a resilient pad 34 under the lower surface 32. The carrier head 30 may be a weighted, free-floating wafer carrier, or an actuator assembly 36 may be attached to the carrier head 30 to impart rotational motion to the micro-device workpieces 12 (indicated by arrow J) and/or reciprocate the workpieces 12 back and forth (indicated by arrow 1).
The planarizing pad 40 and a planarizing solution 44 define a planarizing medium that mechanically and/or chemically-mechanically removes material from the surface of the micro-device workpieces 12. The planarizing solution 44 may be a conventional CMP slurry with abrasive particles and chemicals that etch and/or oxidize the surface of the micro-device workpieces 12, or the planarizing solution 44 may be a “clean” nonabrasive planarizing solution without abrasive particles. In most CMP applications, abrasive slurries with abrasive particles are used on non-abrasive polishing pads, and clean non-abrasive solutions without abrasive particles are used on fixed-abrasive polishing pads.
To planarize the micro-device workpieces 12 with the CMP machine 10, the carrier head 30 presses the workpieces 12 facedown against the planarizing pad 40. More specifically, the carrier head 30 generally presses the micro-device workpieces 12 against the planarizing solution 44 on a planarizing surface 42 of the planarizing pad 40, and the platen 20 and/or the carrier head 30 moves to rub the workpieces 12 against the planarizing surface 42. As the micro-device workpieces 12 rubs against the planarizing surface 42, the planarizing medium removes material from the face of the workpieces 12.
The CMP process must consistently and accurately produce a uniformly planar surface on the workpieces to enable precise fabrication of circuits and photo-patterns. A nonuniform surface can result, for example, when material from one area of the workpieces is removed more quickly than material from another area during CMP processing. To compensate for the nonuniform removal of material, carrier heads have been developed with expandable interior and exterior bladders that exert downward forces on selected areas of the workpieces. These carrier heads, however, have several drawbacks. For example, the typical bladder has a curved edge that makes it difficult to exert a uniform downward force at the perimeter. Moreover, conventional bladders cover a fairly broad area of the workpieces, thus limiting the ability to localize the downward force on the workpieces. Furthermore, conventional bladders are often filled with compressible air that inhibits precise control of the downward force. In addition, carrier heads with multiple bladders form a complex system that is subject to significant downtime for repair and/or maintenance, causing a concomitant reduction in throughput.